Land clearing complete, Prince Rupert Supportive Housing site sits ready for construction phase

Land to the west of the Transition House on Park Avenue
has been cleared in anticipation of the start of construction
for supportive housing units in the city

The land has been cleared and levelled off, the required infrastructure of pipes and other supplies stands ready to the side for the start of construction for the modular units for the Supportive Housing  project for Prince Rupert's homeless population set to be built at 1450 Park Avenue.

The land which was donated by the City of Prince Rupert will be the home for a modular unit style facility which will offer 36 units of supportive housing with support staff on site.

The Park Avenue units are to be installed by Horizon North, which was recently announced as the company that is building the Pembina worker's camp at the Watson Island site for Pembina's LPG shipment terminal.

Once complete, the Park Avenue housing complex will be operated by the North Coast Transition Society which is located next door, which will offer the residents access to the staff around the clock, those staff members will provide for a meal program, life and employment skills training, health and wellness service, as well as the opportunity for volunteer work.

In anticipation of  the Park Avenue housing work getting underway shortly and the completion of the housing units in early 2019, Transition House recently issued a call for applicants for some of those staffing positions.

The last known timeline for work on the project was that the construction phase would move through the fall and into the winter months, with the building to be completed and the new tenants able to move in sometime in early 2019.

For this fall and winter, the homeless shelter will continue to operate at the old McLean and Rudderham building on Third Avenue West, that emergency shelter location opened last year in November, that after a week of protest on the lawn at City Hall where a Tent City had been set up to protest the lack of affordable housing in the community.

The Prince Rupert supportive housing project which was originally supposed to have been in place by the spring of 2018, it was one of a number of similar supportive housing plans in the Northwest that was announced by the NDP government.

A similar supportive housing project for Smithers was also promised for the Bulkley Valley in January of this year.

And the Smithers project is making some significant progress, with the modular units now in place and the finishing work on the site now underway.

It's anticipated that the 24 unit Smithers facility will open in January 2019.

Initiative to combat homelessness is under construction
Construction begins on Smithers Supportive Housing project

A similar housing project is underway in Terrace, where 52 units of modular housing will be put in place for that community, with a move in date hoped for in early 2019.

Terrace Council votes to ignore Sunday construction restriction on affordable housing project
Supportive Housing in Terrace Breaks ground

For more items of interest related to housing in the Northwest see our archive page here.